Brown butter.

The first appearance of brown butter, long ago, was probably the result of an accident, like so many wonderful things – of all kinds – that we enjoy and take for granted. Last night it was an accident again, a very local accident.

I’ve cooked flounder using the recipe I used yesterday more than once, but this time it came with a twist, a serendipity. The next time it appears it won’t be a fluke.

It started when I placed some butter inside an enameled pan above a low flame, intending only to melt it, but then I stepped away, and when I looked back it had started to color, somewhat alarmingly. Fortunately the pan itself was not black, but a light tan, so I could see what was happening and catch it just in time (the butter wasn’t black and had no burnt taste), so I decided I’d go with it.

The result was extraordinary, in both common meanings of the word.

• six small flounder fillets (just under one pound together) from P.E. & D.D. Seafood, seasoned with salt and pepper on both sides, coated lightly with well-seasoned flour (I used North Country Farms Stone Ground Whole Wheat Flour), then submerged in a shallow bowl containing a mixture of one pullet egg from Millport Dairy, a little whole milk, and a pinch of salt, allowed to stay submerged until the vegetable had been cooked and the remaining ingredients for the fish prepared, then removed from the bowl, placed inside a heavy enameled cast iron pan on top of 3 tablespoons of butter that had been melted and allowed to brown, several halved large fresh sage leaves from Phillips Farm, one section of a dried, crushed orange/golden dried habanada pepper from Norwich Meadows Farm, and one sliced ruddy scallion (the ‘Scarlet Scallion’, a Japanese heirloom) from Norwich Meadows Farm (including some of the green section), sautéed over a brisk flame until golden, about 2 1/2 minutes on the first side, 1 1/2 minutes on the second, sprinkled with some juice of an organic lemon from Whole Foods Market, transferred onto warm plates, some chopped parsley from S. & S.O. Farm scattered on top
• a good sized serving of yellow Romano beans from Norwich Meadows Farm, parboiled in salted water for a few minutes, drained, dried inside the same pot over a medium flame while shaking them, reheated, as the fish was being sautéd, in melted butter inside a heavy tin-lined copper pan, tossed with chopped summer savory from Ryder Farm, seasoned with salt and pepper [the beans had cooked longer than I normally would, but they were still delicious, and I remember that in Italy, unaccountably, vegetables are generally cooked much longer than I ever do]
• the wine was a Spanish (Galicia, Rias Baixas) white, Campos de Celtas Albariño 2015, from Manley’s Wine & Spirits in the West Village

There was a dessert, a simple fruit serving.

• Asian melon from Norwich Meadows Farm, a couple of blackberries from Locust Grove Orchards, and a pinch of turbinado sugar, for the crunch, and to sweeten the berries

 

• the music through out the meal was Rameau’s 1741 ‘Six Concerts en Sextuor Les Talens Lyriques‘, performed by Les Talens Lyriques, directed by Christophe Rousset

To me, these meals in which I use fresh pasta, usually a filled form, always seem like they come pre-assembled, and yet they also offer huge opportunities for customization, working with both necessity and whim.

Last night the necessity was that I had very little time to put something together once I got back from Whole Foods Market where I’d picked up some staples, so I eliminated some of what I had expected to include in the dish. And yet there was also room for whim: Before I was done throwing the entrée together I ended up introducing several ingredients I fancied, although they hadn’t been a part of any plan.

The dish was earthy, fully redolent of the autumn which had not yet actually arrived.

• Rana mushroom-filled ravioli from Eataly, quickly boiled, drained and transferred to a heavy broad tin-lined copper pan in which a small amount of sliced Japanese scallions from Norwich Meadows Farm, a tiny chopped section of a small Calabrian medium hot cherry pepper from Alewife Farm, a bit of a dried dark habanada pepper, and one small sliced shallot from Paffenroth Farms had been briefly sautéed (warmed, basically) in olive oil, after which some sea salt, freshly-ground black pepper, a dozen or so pitted Gaeta olives from Buon Italia, and some fennel buds were added, and, with a bit of pasta water, the liquids heated over a moderate flame and  emulsified, the contents of the pot placed in shallow bowls, finished with a drizzle of olive oil, a sprinkling of toasted pine nuts, and a scattering of micro bronze fennel from Two Guys from Woodbridge
• the wine was a California (Lodi) red, Jacqueline Bahue Cabernet Franc Lodi 2015, from Naked Wines
• the music was Tchaikovsky’s ‘Manfred Symphony’, in a performance which is a part of the Tchaikovsky Project Vol. 2, Semyon Bychkov conducting the Czech Philharmonic

The table inside my tiny Indian restaurant.

We enjoyed a little bit of India as a late afternoon snack today, thanks to the Bombay Emerald Chutney Company.

When I visited Nirmala Gupta‘s stand inside Chelsea’s Down to Earth Farmers Market on 23rd Street yesterday (she’s only at that location once a month), I came away with a couple fresh wrapped Rôti (which we had enjoyed once before) and a package of 4 frozen samosas. The rôti, which I’ve frozen, will show up for a Sunday breakfast, probably next week; the samosas made it only as far as today’s lunch table.

• four handmade vegan samosas from the Bombay Emerald Chutney Company  (ingredients: potato, white flour, peas, water, olive and canola oils, salt, red chili, and spices), defrosted, placed inside a small Pampered Chef unglazed ceramic pan, the tops brushed with olive oil, baked 15 minutes inside an oven preheated to 425ºF, turned once, and baked for another 15 minutes, allowed to cool a bit before served with 2 chutneys, Bombay Emerald Chutney Company’s Royal Coconut Chutney and Geeta’s Premium Mango Chutney (medium heat)

 

I’m developing an obsession with fenugreek.

After our experience with it on eggs this morning (afternoon), it will be difficult for me to keep it away from our late Sunday breakfasts.

It’s not as if there were no other seasonings involved, but the fenugreek I purchased from Nirmala Gupta’s ‘Bombay Emerald Chutney Company‘ at Chelsea’s Down to Earth Farmers Market on 23rd Street is what I remember this time.

• the elements of the meal were eggs and thick bacon from Millport Dairy Farm, toasts from 3 different breads, second-day, or older (that is, a Balthazar baguette, an Orwasher’s multigrain, and a multigrain and seeded Bread Alone loaf), a bit of the green section from a Japanese scallion from Norwich Meadows Farm, tiny pieces of a medium hot Calabrian cherry pepper from Alewife Farm, sea salt, freshly-ground black pepper, Organic Valley ‘Cultured Pasture Butter’, and bronze micro fennel from Two Guys from Woodbridge
• the music was the 1656-1657 ‘Missa Azzolina’ of Orazio Benevolo (or Benevoli), performed by Le Concert Spirituel directed by Hervé Niquet [more on the piece here]

I wasn’t able to get to the Union Square Greenmarket today, but I was still able to get some fresh fish for the evening, because of Chelsea’s Down to Earth Farmers Market on 23rd Street.

• four red sea perch fillets (totaling 15 ounces) from American Pride Seafood Company, their stall in Chelsea’s Down to Earth Farmers Market on 23rd Street, brushed with 2 tablespoons of olive oil mixed with more than a teaspoon of a combination of chopped rocambole garlic from Keith’s Farm and thinly-sliced Japanese scallions from Norwich Meadows Farm, the fish seasoned with sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper, placed inside an enameled cast iron pan and broiled skin side up, 4 or 5 inches from the flames, for about 5 minutes, or when the skin had become crisp and the fish cooked through, sauced with a bit of olive oil in which 2 salted anchovies from Buon Italia, rinsed and filleted, had been heated over a very low flame for about 5 minutes until the anchovies had fallen apart, kept warm while the fillets were broiled, finished on the plates with chopped oregano from Stokes Farm, organic Whole Foods Market lemon wedges served on the side
• purple mustard greens from Paffenroth Farms, wilted for only about 10 to 15 seconds in a little live oil in which one clove of sliced rocambole garlic from Keith’s Farm had been allowed to sweat, a small amount of a Calabrian medium hot cherry pepper from Alewife Farm added after the greens had wilted, seasoned with sea salt and freshly-ground pepper, finished on the plates with a drizzle of olive oil
• the wine was a Portugese (Alenejo) white, Esporão Reserva White 2015, from Manley’s Wine & Spirits, 35 8th Avenue
• the music was William Duckworth’s ‘The Time Curve Preludes’

Dolphin.

I love this fish, for its beauty almost as much as its tastiness. This time I was able to see, and photograph, a little bit of the former while it stay lay in the fish monger’s bucket in the Union Square Greenmarket.

• one fairly thick Atlantic dolphin fillet (17 ounces) – with skin! – from Pure Vida Seafood, washed, dried, halved crosswise, rubbed with olive oil on both sides, coated with a mix of one half tablespoon of organic lemon zest from Whole Foods Market, an equal amount of lemon juice, sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper, then allowed to sit for about half an hour (at first inside the refrigerator, but removed early enough to come to room temperature) while the accompanying vegetable, a corn-husk cherry-tomato-salsa, was assembled, then pan grilled over a medium to high flame, skin side up, for almost 2 1/2 minutes, turned, and grilled with the flesh side up for almost 4 1/2 minutes longer, the fillets arranged on 2 plates, drizzled with a little more lemon juice, scattered with fennel blossom buds, a bit of olive oil poured over the top
• two ears of organic white sweet corn (‘Sugarbuns’) from Alewife Farm, husked, coated with olive oil, rubbed with sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper, pan-grilled, the kernels cut from the cobs and mixed inside a bowl with a couple handfuls of husked ground cherries from Tamarack Hollow Farm; one red heirloom tomato from Berried Treasures; 2 small Japanese scallions from Norwich Meadows Farm, sliced; part of a fresh medium hot Calabrian cherry pepper from Alewife Farm; 2 tablespoons of torn basil from a living Stokes Farm plant, tossed with a vinaigrette made with 2 tablespoons of olive oil, the juice of half of a small organic Whole Foods Market lemon, the zest from that half lemon, salt and pepper, and, finally, a bit of fenugreek powder from Nirmala Gupta’s ‘Bombay Emerald Chutney Company‘ at Chelsea’s Down to Earth Farmers Market on 23rd Street

Most of the vegetables and the one fresh herb are lined up below.

• the wine was an Italian (Campania) white, Terredora Falanghina 2016, from Garnet Wines & Liquors
• the music was Beethoven, Piano Concertos Nos. 1and 2, Bruno Weil directing the Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra from the fortepiano

..and also a bit of peperoncini.

I think I’ve come to prefer chevre over mozzarella as an accompaniment to the best tomatoes, especially when the cheese is as good as that produced by Ardith Mae.

For the purposes of this meal at least, which, even without buffalo mozzarella (we have buffalo pasta instead), is more Italian than French, I’m going to call this fresh cheese ‘caprino’.

• slices of 3 different colored heirloom tomatoes from Berried Treasures Farm, served with an Ardith Mae chevre (or, humor me here: ‘caprino‘), Maldon salt and freshly-ground black pepper, some torn basil leaves that had been pulled off of a live plant from Stokes Farm, both tomatoes and cheese drizzled with an excellent olive oil, Alce Nero DOP ‘Terra di Bari Bitonto’ from Eataly
• slices from a loaf of Orwasher’s Multigrain bread

I just noticed that the main course was as vegetarian as the first one. In fact, this pasta dish was almost vegan.

• Japanese cucumbers [It. cetriolo], about a pound, from Berried Treasures Farm, sliced about 1/2″ thick, dried, sautéed inside a very large cast iron pan in a little olive oil over a fairly high flame until they had begun to color, then joined by 2 whole small dried red Calabrian peppers from Alewife Farm and 2 chopped red scallions [It. Scalogno] from Rise & Root Farm, and cooked until softened, tossed with some fennel [It. finocchio] buds from Berried Treasures, seasoned with sea salt and freshly-ground black peppers, after which 8 ounces of Sfoglini’s Riverine Ranch water buffalo milk pasta, cooked al dente, and some of the reserved pasta water were added to the vegetables, stirred over a low-to-moderate flame for a couple of minutes to blend the flavors and the ingredients, transferred to shallow bowls, finished with a drizzle of olive oil and some homemade breadcrumbs scattered on top, micro bronze fennel from Two Guys from Woodbridge sprinkled over all
• the wine was an Italian (Veneto) rosé, Bardolino Chiaretto Corte Gardoni 2016, from Eataly Vino
• the music was Johann Wilhelm Hässler’s ‘360 Preludes in All Major and Minor Keys’, performed by Vitlaus von Horn [much more information about the composer here]

It looks as good as it tasted. Mackerel is a super fish, and if the recipe chosen works with its singular qualities, there’s almost nothing better. This recipe is one of my favorites, and in fact so favorited that it’s almost my only one.

And the fillets looked great throughout, from the moment I spied them inside the fisher’s bucket in the Union Square Greenmarket until they arrived on the table.

I’m writing this the next day, and I can smell the heavenly aromas, fish and char, as I revisit them in these pictures.

And look at those lines!

• six Spanish mackerel fillets (a total of about 15 ounces) from Blue Moon Fish, washed, dried, brushed with olive oil, seasoned with sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper, pan grilled over high heat for 6 or 7 minutes, skin side down first, turned half way through, removed and completed on the plates with a salsa consisting of 7 ounces of gorgeous cherry tomatoes in various colors and sizes from Alewife Farm, halved,  tossed with olive oil, a teaspoon or more of Sicilian salted capers (first rinsed and drained), much of one small red Calabrian chili pepper, half a tablespoon of juice from a Whole Foods Market organic lemon, sea salt, freshly-ground black pepper, and a bit of spicy liquid, now slightly-fermented, that remained from a salsa prepared for the meal the night before
• haricots verts from Sycamore Farms, left whole, blanched, drained and dried in the same pan over low-medium heat, shaking, then set aside in a bowl until the fish was ready to be grilled , at which time they were reheated in a little oil inside a heavy well-seasoned cast iron pan, finished with sea salt, freshly-ground black pepper, and mixed with fennel buds from Mountain Sweet Berry Farm
• the wine was a French (Côtes de Provence) rosé, Rosé Chateau des Muraires Seduction 2015, from Garnet Wines
• the music was Mark Anfre’s ‘…auf…’, Sylvain Cambreling conducting the SWR Baden-Baden and the Freiburg Symphony Orchestra

It’s the perfect fast food. And you can enjoy it in the comfort of your own home, especially when Dolores, the wife of the fisherman Phil Karlin, has made the crab cakes.

• two crab cakes from PE & DD Seafood (crab, egg, flour, red & green peppers, garlic, salt, pepper, breadcrumbs, mayonnaise, milk, celery, and parsley), defrosted earlier in the evening, heated with a drizzle of olive oil inside a heavy oval enameled cast iron pan, 3 to 4 minutes to each side, served on a salsa composed of chopped mixed heirloom tomatoes (including one tiny hard green one) from Berried Treasures Farm, sea salt, freshly-ground black pepper, a bit of a bit of a homemade French Basque  piment d’Espellate we had purchased in a small town north of Baie-Comeau, Quebec from the producer’s daughter, much of one small red Calabrian chili pepper from Alewife Farm, and some torn fresh basil pulled off of a very much alive plant from Stokes Farm, both crab cakes and salsa finished with a sprinkling of micro lemon peppercress from Two Guys from Woodbridge
• a salad of arugula and fennel buds, both from Berried Treasures; thinly-sliced red radishes from Row By Row Farm; sliced Japanese scallions from Norwich Meadows Farm; chopped baby fennel fronds from Paffenroth Farms, all tossed together with a bit of sea salt; freshly-ground black pepper; Sicilian olive oil from Whole Foods Market; and organic lemon juice from Whole Foods Market

There was a small cheese course.

• portions of two cow cheeses, ‘Pawlet’ and ‘Rupert’, from Consider Bardwell Farm
• toasts from a Balthazar baguette
• some delicious Candice red seedless grapes from Troncillito Farms, their stand in the Union Square Greenmarket.

 

• the wine throughout was a Portuguese (Douro) white, Crasto Douro D.O.C. 2014, from Manley’s Wine & Spirits, 35 8th Avenue
• the music through the meal was from the album, ‘Live from Lugano Festival 2016‘, Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G, and his ‘Gaspard de la nuit‘

This was the second day in a row that we enjoyed meats from one of our favorite local cheese makers. The first time it was veal, this time it was goat, both as superlative as Consider Bardwell’s acclaimed cheeses.

The sausage was wonderful. It was also so juicy it really didn’t need a sauce or condiment, although I found one and had put it on the table before I realized it hardly asked for it. But, as a combination of cranberries and mustard, it was a perfect match.

With this meal my supply of these very good sweet peppers has finally been exhausted.

• four spicy goat sausage links (one pound) from Consider Bardwell Farm, pan-grilled then arranged on a bed of arugula from Franco’s Berried Treasures [the sausage ingredients included goat meat, salt, spices (including red pepper, paprika, cumin, ground mustard), dextrose, sugar, garlic powder, natural spice extractives (including paprika, pepper), and natural hog casings], served with Inglehoffer  cranberry mustard (yeah, that rightness of that condiment was a surprise to me as well)
• a few super-sweet, red and orange, ‘Cornito” peppers and a dark green poblano, all from Alewife Farm, cut, after the seeds and membranes were removed, into bite-size pieces, sautéed over a high flame until slightly caramelized, slivers of Calabrian pepper, baby fennel, fennel fronds, one sliced Japanese scallion, and a pinch of crushed dark dried habanada pepper added near the end, the mix tossed with sea salt, freshly-ground black pepper and some chopped summer savory from Ryder Farm, and served with a drizzle of olive oil
• the wine was a California (Santa Barbara) red, Rick Boyer Santa Barbara County Syrah 2016, from Naked Wines

There was a dessert.

• blackberries from Locust Grove Orchards, some of them mashed with a little turbinado sugar and a couple teaspoons of Toschi Orzata Orgeat syrup to make a self-sauce, the berries scattered on top of a scoop of some fantastic Riverine Ranch Water Buffalo Sweet Cream Ice Cream [the ingredients are buffalo milk, organic farm eggs, pure cane sugar, organic coconut flour, and salt], and the sauce drizzled over the ice cream and the berries

 

• the music throughout the meal was the album, ‘Beyond‘, with performances by the Los Angeles Percussion Quartet of music by Daníel  Bjarnason, Anna Thorvaldsdottir, Christopher Cerrone, Ellen Reid, and Andrew McIntosh